I’ve been working on this beauty for MONTHS and I finally got it finished today so I am beyond excited to have it marked off my “To Do” list!! This game will be one of a few lawn games that we will have for our guests to partake in during cocktail hour at our reception. I wanted it to be southern (monogram), sweet (pink!), and fun (duh, it’s a cornhole game). The boards themselves were made by a friend of ours and gifted to us (BIG THANKS TIM!) and the painting and sewing was carried out by yours truly with some help from the husband-to-be (HTB).

Sorry, there aren’t any pictures of the board in the works but I decided to start my blog after I was finished with them. Basically the HTB and I taped off the striped edges and painted them. The monogram was a little tricky to pull off but after I found an interlocking font that I liked online I tried my best to cut and paste our married monogram together, blew it up on our printer, and traced it on with tracing paper. I filled it in with paint and then went back and outlined it with a gold paint marker.

After the boards were done I moved on to digging out my sewing machine and getting to work on the bags filled with corn. After finding similar yet different coordinating fabrics, I cut them into 5 inch squares. I also cut some muslin to use as an inner pouch to make the bags sturdier and secure.

Next, I pinned down around 3 of the 4 sides of the squares to create a pouch and sewed them. I filled the one open side with 2 cups of corn.

Once all the corn was inside, I folded the last edge into itself and pinned it down and sewed it shut. Have patience during this because it can get frustrating with a full bag of corn fighting against you while sewing. Also I sewed EVERY side and the finished edge THREE times to make sure the bags wouldn’t bust during a game.

The HTB and I played a few rounds to make sure the bags wouldn’t break and they held up so I hope they do the same on our wedding day. I must say that I am liking the looks of our married monogram! I just hope the guys aren’t scared off by the pink at the reception and still play!!

With our wedding only 6 months away I had to send out our Save the Dates this past week. If the next 6 months are anything like the past year, it will go by uber fast! Since our wedding has a southern vintage vibe I wanted our STDs to reflect this as well since they are said to set the tone of your wedding. After agonizing over this Etsy designer and that Etsy designer for months I finally found a STD that I loved (Etsy has become my most LOVED resource for all party planning….if you aren’t on board with it yet then you should be!) After I tweaked it all a little and collected everything I needed, I got to work and gave them a personal touch. First, I cut the edges of the original cardstock…..

Next I got my heavier, cream colored cardstock that I ordered from Bella Rose Craft to use as a backing for a sturdier overall piece. With a little rubber cement and time they were starting to come together.

Finally, I stuffed the envelopes I ordered here and they were ready to be addressed and mailed out!

Such an easy and fun project!

Helpful Hint: If you ever use rubber cement ALWAYS use a rubber cement eraser! I discovered this handy little crafting tool a few years back in one of my Graphic Design classes and IT.IS.AMAZING. Trust me, you will not be disappointed!

I have been a fan of Southern Weddings Magazine well before I got engaged and I became even more of a fan when my very dear friend’s wedding was featured in their hardcopy magazine this past year, V4!! (You can buy your issue here.) Here are some of the AH-mazing shots from her wedding courtesy of Adam Barnes Photography.

That's me on the far left!

It was such an honor for Rachel to have her wedding featured in such a prestigious southern weddings bible like Southern Weddings Magazine and it was an honor for all of us bridesmaids as well. That is why today I was happy to find that my little ‘ole blog was selected to be one of Southern Wedding Magazine’s Bride Bloggers!

I am beyond excited and I am hoping this will keep me accountable for keeping up with my postings. You can see the complete list of all the southern brides-to-be here.

But at almost $75 USD and the cost of shipping I just couldn’t let myself do it. So since I have been collecting vintage china here and there over the past year for dinnerware at our reception, I decided to pull 3 of my favorite pieces from my collection and give them up for the greater good of creating my very own 3-tier cake stand. And here’s how I did it….

First I chose 3 different plates in 3 varying sizes that had similar coloring and decorative edges.

After was confident in my choices I gathered up all my tools…..

You will need a drill and various diamond headed drill bits

You want to determine the center of each plate by measuring straight across your plate and finding your center. Do this 3-4 times to make sure you are accurate. Then take a sharpie and make a time dot where you want to make your hole. Start drilling!

It may be a little slippery to get started but after you get going you will get the hang of it. As I drilled mine, the actual plate started to get hot. If this happens stop and run your plate under some cool water for a second to let it cool down. You can resume after a few seconds. It does take a rather long time to drill each hole. Somewhere around 20-30 minutes per plate if you are continuously drilling; so be prepared for that. After you have finished drilling all of your holes you are ready for your connectors. I chose gold plated ones to blend with the gold in my china.

And after a little wiggling and fidgeting to get the connectors in the holes you will start to see it take shape…..

And before you know it you will have something that looks similar to this…..

Pretty simple and I didn’t spend a ton of money to make it. I figured all and all I spent about $32 total for the china and around $9 for the connectors from ebay. So for $41 I have something that looks like I spent a lot more but I get to say that I DIY’d it myself!

Today Adam and I went to the Crate & Barrel Registry Event and it was so much fun! We found lots of goodies that we really need….and lots we do not really need. But I guess that’s the fun of registering for gifts. Tonight I will have to edit our registry online so that our friends and family don’t think we are crazy! The event itself was great; C&B really does a great job of putting it together. There was plenty of breakfast foods and drinks….Adam was a little too hopped up on the expresso by the time we left.

Just some of the breakfast foods the wonderful sales associates had prepared. There was bacon and pancakes downstairs! (Also added some of these chic little wine & dine trays to our registry!)

I fell into a deep LOVE with this reclaimed wood desk the moment I saw it. But it’s so pricey that it will most likely be removed from our list.

Adam scanning up a storm in the beer pilsner section. #iwouldntlethimscanthekeg

I also had a small affair with these little chickadee plates. Sadly, the sales associate told me that because they are seasonal they may not be around in the fall. Luckily C&B has started a new feature on their registry site that allows couples to mark certain items as “favorites” if they run the risk of them not being in stock later.

I have been wanting a tabletop terrarium for some time now and this one with the little bird on top is perfection

And this is our very first wedding gift!

If you are a couple who has yet to register for gifts anywhere I definitely recommend RSVP-ing for a Crate & Barrel Registry Event near you!

I thought I’d introduce myself with some pictures from our engagement session last September. I wanted the pictures to be fun, colorful, and bright and thanks to the wonderfully talented Stephanie over at Indigo Photography that’s EXACTLY what I got.

What do you guys think? Did anyone else take their engagement photos somewhere unique?